There are probably only a handful of people who understand what actually happened to Liz. It has nothing to do with her ‘baggage’, her sex, or even politics per se. She was feared and avoided for the same reason people don’t invite the pastor to their house for dinner: She makes people feel how small we really are in this world because her intellect is larger than life. She makes everyone in the room feel stupid and guilty. It doesn’t matter if it’s done with a smile or a wave or a plan to help, people hate feeling stupid and guilty. It’s the same reason Greta Thunberg is feared by adults. Autism does that when it brings out one truth that can never be seen in democratic politics (emo-mobs): “It’s OK if you’re smarter than everyone else. Just don’t tell them that or they’ll beat you up.”

THAT’s the core of American Exceptionalism in a nutshell. Americans will defend their right to be stupid to the death. Trump is like a Golden Retriever: his people love him because he makes them feel smart.